JetBlue To Charge For Extra Legroom

JetBlue announced yesterday that they’ll be reconfiguring their Airbus A320 fleet to include several rows of seating with 38″ of pitch. These “Even More Legroom” seats will be available to you—for a small fee.

Starting April 1, the airline will be charging between $10 and $20 for four more inches of legroom in rows 2-5. CEO David Barger says the new roomier seats don’t come at the expense of other passengers:

“Lots of Legroom, free TVs, generous snacks and friendly service are all part of the core JetBlue Experience, and these in-flight perks will always be provided at no extra cost to the customer,” said Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue Airways. “Our new value-added legroom product gives customers the option to make their flight even more comfortable and enjoyable with Even More Legroom, but not at the expense of other customers.”

We wondered if JetBlue was able to violate the laws of physics so we asked them how it was possible to give more legroom to a few without taking it away from others.

Here’s the magic: Rows 1-11 used to have 36″ of pitch while the rest of the plane had 34″. (The industry average is a knee-torturing 31″.) Now rows 2-5 will have 38″ and the rest will have 34″.

We also asked what would happen if all the regular seats were sold out. Does JetBlue anticipate dealing with a lot of parents upset that they have to pay an extra $10 for legroom for an 8-year-old?

“If “Even More Legroom” seats are the only seats available, and the customers do not request or want an “Even More Legroom” seat, we will not require them to pay the fee,” said Alison from JetBlue.

@snoop-blog: I personally need the leg room much more than “fat room”. And I’m 6’1″, not exactly an NBA player. I would gladly pay this fee if it were only $20. I’m guessing those seats will sell faster than any others on the plane.

NO no NO! The entire ORIGINAL point of jetBlue was that ALL CUSTOMERS ARE THE SAME! Jetblue pushed hard on the idea that they treat all customers the same, and there is only one class. This violates what makes jetblue…jetblue, and does not make me happy. This is a step in the wrong direction, IMHO.

I’d pay a little more for a little bit more leg room. I think it’s good to be able to buy more if you need it without having to make the huge (prohibitive-to-most) jump to first class. I think buying more witdth (without having to buy an extra seat) would be a good idea, too.

I would gladly pay for the extra leg room if there was no exit row with “free” leg room available. Personally I think the airlines should start selling tickets like bus tickets. If you dont go… you loose your ticket. Then they would not have to play these price games with us and overbook to stay in business.

This is so simple, and most people have no clue. Look at the type of plane you are scheduled to fly on and request the seats behind the bulkhead between cabin sections, there is more leg room there than anywhere else on the plane. When I fly I always request these seats, the emergency exit row is a good one as well, as long as you don’t mind helping people off the now crashed plane. I am 6′ 2 so I know of what I speak.

@SpdRacer: That’s a great idea, except that on most airline flights I’ve booked in the last 5 years, those are either already sold or not offered to me on their website when I buy my ticket. And I’m not talking about booking only a week in advance or something.

I’m 6’6″ and I’d GLADLY pay extra for leg room…unfortunately SpdRacer it’s usually not possible to “request the seats behind the bulkhead between cabin sections” as those are often reserved for “priority gold extra special super deluxe presidents club passengers” who, in my experience, tend to be about 5’5″! Virgin America charges extra for the leg room seats and I gladly pay it. It’s about time other airlines wise up and do this. Jet Blue will now get more consideration when I’m booking a flight.

@johnva: My poor 6’4″ husband was almost crippled after a cross-country flight on an older, small plane. (I can’t remember the seating config or I could look up what kind it was.) He was all twisted up just to fit.

I bought tickets from JFK to LAX last week – and just upgraded to the bigger row for $40 RT. My company already paid for the ticket, so spending $40 for extra leg room is worth it for me. Thanks for the heads up, Consumerist!

@Geekybiker: Ahh, so that explains it. I guess they all changed in that regard in the last few years to make some extra profit. So that makes them no different from this Jetblue policy, really. Still, how do I know if I’m getting “full fare economy” or not? I’m just going to the airline websites.

My husband is 6’5″. He tries to get emergency row seating for that bit of extra legroom, but isn’t always successful. We’d definitely pay for the extra legroom — especially since most of the times we fly, the flight times are long.

@SpdRacer: Same experience here as johnva…great idea, but when you buy the tickets, the bulkhead/emergency exit are not available or sold out. I’ve had some success checking AA.com daily for seats to open up and then switching. I’ve also tried asking at the gate to switch seats and have sometimes been able to. But more often than not, the bulkhead/exit row are just not available. People of all sizes want the extra leg room. I’m 6’6″ and really, really want the extra leg room!

@NotATool: Yeah, it’d be nice if they would institute some sort of body size criteria for who gets those seats. I would gladly pay more for them if they would just make it so that I can actually buy them!

The reason Jet Blue does one class is that it lowers the cost structure massively. Adding slightly higher prices for a few rows does nothing to alter the price structure, and so they’ll do it if demand warrants.

Well, there is a “class” Y, Z, W or whatever attached to every fare. Its based on the class letter. If you look at your fare details you can normally find it. However the easiest way generally is searching for refundable tickets. Its alot more expensive though.

@Yankees368: Ok, so if I use your logic, everyone in the world is 5 foot 6 inches tall, and doesn’t require any extra space for their legs. I realize the whole “treating everyone the same” idea only goes so far. I like the idea of only having one class, but some people’s need for extra space is irrefutable. I once sat on a flight to japan next to a 6’5 Brazilian man. The poor guy had requested through his travel agency that he be seated in an exit row, but he still got screwed over in the seat assignments. I have no doubt he would have preferred to pay the extra $10 or $20 to have that bit more space, as opposed to the contortionist act he went through.

@Eyebrows McGee: I’m about 6’2/6’3 and flying is one of the worst experiences ever for me. I’m not THAT tall and I just don’t fit in the seats at all. It’s insanely ridiculous to me how they just cram everyone into those tiny ass seats. I would gladly pay extra for extra leg room, but what if you don’t get one of those seats…now you’re in a seat that’s an inch shorter than it used to be?! Why not just get rid of ONE row and make all the seats roomier?!?!?!!??!!?!?

@Yankees368: Oh, puhleez. JetBlue has always offered more legroom at the front of the plane. First come, first serve. Is that treating all customers the same? The only real difference is that now you have to pay for it if there are “regular” seats still available.

@oneTee: Seriously. On the one hand, I don’t expect to get more space than other people for free. But on the other hand, they are making seats so small that a good portion of the population simply does not fit. I’m only 6’1″ and I cannot sit in many airline seats without my knees being jammed against the seat in front of me (especially if the person in front of me reclines).

Being 6’8 I’d pay for this, for some reason when I try to get an exit row, even when showing up like 2-3 hours before my flight some 5’6 guy gets it. People don’t realize that when you stick me behind someone you end up with 2 uncomfortable people because my knees won’t all my table to come down and the person in front of me can’t recline.

@ARP: The airlines aren’t screwing you. They are losing bazillions of dollars and are trying to stay in business. Everyone seems to think that because prices go up the consumer is being bent over. Give me a break. Stuff gets more expensive. That’s life.

I wonder if this could qualify as height discrimination. If the person can clearly sit comfortably without the extra leg room, charge them. If the person is tall and will be squished like a sardine between rows, waive the fee. Because then it probably edges into possible health risk territory.

Use height markers like amusement parks to determine if its space greed or genuine need for more room.

When I read this today, I booked a a cross-country business trip in June, and the company gladly consented to paying $40 more so I could be more comfortable. Beats the cost of first class seating any day.

The rest of the office crew chose to fly out on USAir in coach, buwhaaahaaaaaa!

Love the TVs on board. On a JetBlue trip a few years back, a lot of us were watching a live Neil Diamond performance on A&E that was taking phone requests from viewers. Someone on board called in on a seat phone and requested he sing a song “for the folks watching on JetBlue flight xx”. Very cool.

How can David Barger call it “value-added” if they CHARGE you for it? That’s NOT value-added. They give you something then charge you for it. Unless they’re not making a profit on this change (bwahhaha), it’s VALUE-NET-LOSS. Guess that doesn’t sound as good on the PR-o-meter. *grumble*

This is a great idea. $10-$20 isn’t a lot, and it allows short people to think twice before hogging all the good spots for tall people. It’s just a little added incentive to keep some more comfortable seats free for tall people, and you don’t have to pay crazy first-class prices. I don’t see any downside here.

I don’t understand why people recline their seats on flights anymore. We all know that it only screws the person behind you. Even if you’re not tall, you can’t open your laptop up on your lap to watch a movie (though irrelevant on JetBlue).